rustbelter 0 Posted December 5, 2019 Hi all, I'm posting this half out of guilt, and half out of thanks. I've been debating purchasing a rep for 3+ years, and created an account here two years back with the intent to post and learn more. In the end I've found that with some reading and researching, there hasn't been anything to ask for help with (yet). Between this forum and a few others, plus reddit, a little bit of googling and some puzzling over dealer sites, I've been able to get enough information together to pull the trigger on my first purchase! In the interest of being a contributor, I thought I might just do a quick write-up of how I arrived at deciding on my first rep. Maybe it will help someone else along the way. First - finding what I wanted. I absolutely love the appearance of Rolex Submariner watches. I love Rolex GMT Pepsi and Batman. I've lusted hard for a Hulk. Then I tried one on. NOPE. I had no self-awareness it turns out; my wrists are stupidly oversized for 38mm watches (even 40mm) seems like a child's toy on my wrist. I've been wearing nothing smaller than 44mm for a long time, and didn't even know that I was in big-watch territory with them. It never crossed my mind that I wouldn't like how my favorite watches looked, on my own wrist. So I started searching for watches that were 42mm and larger, thinking that would at least be in my ballpark for comfort and size. The Rolex watches that fit that book and I admired were the Yacht-Master 42 and the Explorer II 42mm. I'd always thought Tudor Pelagos line was a good look, but it looked huge on many wrist shots, which had turned me away. With my revelation regarding my wrist size, I looked them up and sure enough, 42mm! Maybe this would be a better look! I called up my local AD and asked if they had the Pelagos in black as well as LHD, and set an appointment to try them both on. Between making the call and actually trying them on, I started researching reps of both. I'm going to break up my write-up and story by explaining a few things that confused me and why. First, I felt like I was trying to read a business journal in a foreign language, due to the sheer number of seemingly random letters, number/letter combos and acronyms. Everything I tried to lookup just created three more questions that were not apparent or obvious yet. There were version indicators here and there that I couldn't tell what they related to (was it the movement, the manufacturer, the actual model that was being replicated?!). There were old guides to prior generates of the watches, threads of folks who'd seen a bad batch of something, even a thread of a franken of two different manufacturers watches that were bastardized together to get the best of both worlds (best bracelet, best watch body). Second, there was nowhere I felt like I could ask one or two easy questions without getting burned alive. I'd much rather have bought someone a few beers and asked them to ELI5 the entire scene. Me at the AD trying on a real Tudor Pelagos LHD: Having tried on the LHD and the standard Black, I was in trouble... I was in love with both versions. I thought the LHD was going to be the most likely to be a strap monster and that was appealing to me. I went digging on that, and boy was it rough. I couldn't find a lot of detail regarding whether the LHD ZF version had the correct coloring on the bezel - some that indicated there were some made that were stark white instead of ivory, and the TD I emailed sent me some photos that weren't good enough to be sure. Read some more and found there were issues with the bezel rotation being loose or not staying put well at 12-o-clock. Then I went down the rabbit hole of movements, oh what a trip that is. In the end, having lost confidence that I knew what I was doing with the ZF LHD, and not finding enough information to pull the trigger, I decided the XF factory V6F with A2824 movement was my best bet. A good friend is a local jewelry maker and is a big fan of reps, and referred me to a local watchsmith that is open to servicing reps. I expect that once I have the watch in hand, I'll schedule with him to have it fully serviced so I can get a good long life out of it. I am working with one of the best regarded TD's here on RWG, and am putting in my order tomorrow! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GingerApple 7,269 Posted December 5, 2019 Wow! Three years to buy a rep!!!! Wow. How long did it take you to propose!!?! 21 minutes ago, rustbelter said: In the end, having lost confidence that I knew what I was doing with the ZF LHD, and not finding enough information to pull the trigger, I decided the XF factory V6F with A2824 movement was my best bet. Cool story though, thanks for sharing. When you say you're going to go for the V6F watch, do you mean the LHD? Or Pelagos? If the former, I don't think it's available any more. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rustbelter 0 Posted December 5, 2019 7 minutes ago, TheGingerFerret said: Wow! Three years to buy a rep!!!! Wow. How long did it take you to propose!!?! Cool story though, thanks for sharing. When you say you're going to go for the V6F watch, do you mean the LHD? Or Pelagos? If the former, I don't think it's available any more. Hah, 3 months to propose. Go figure, every time I was about to pull the trigger on an order something came up financially that change my priorities. I did buy other gen watches in that timeframe, but this seemed like a leap for some reason. Good question - I wasn't clear about that. I am going with the Pelagos Black V6F. I believe you are correct and that there is no available V6F LHD. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GingerApple 7,269 Posted December 5, 2019 11 minutes ago, rustbelter said: I am going with the Pelagos Black V6F. I believe you are correct and that there is no available V6F LHD. Good first watch, very Gen like. Just watch for marker alignment in QC (amongst all the other normal things). I suspect your second rep purchase might come quicker than your first.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rustbelter 0 Posted December 6, 2019 2 hours ago, TheGingerFerret said: Good first watch, very Gen like. Just watch for marker alignment in QC (amongst all the other normal things). I suspect your second rep purchase might come quicker than your first.... Thanks - I'm very optimistic that this will be a solid first experience. I'm already eyeing my next one, having not even ordered the first... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
